Editor’s Note: The 2012 Los Angeles Dodgers might be a franchise in the middle of being sold, near bankruptcy and struggling for an identity. That does not, however, mean that they cannot help you this year in your fantasy league. Here is a look at do’s and don’ts for the Dodgers.

Do look at the Dodgers outfield. They have quite an outfield with Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, Juan Rivera and Jerry Sands. Matt Kemp was a triple crown candidate last season, Ethier is a good young player and Sands is up and coming. Rivera is a solid veteran, you have plenty of outfield choices just on the Dodgers alone. Ethier was at 292, 11, 62 last year with a 368 on base percentage. Kemp was 324, 39, 126 with a 399 on base and 40 stolen bases. Sands was at 253, 4, 26 last year in 61 games. The Dodgers have high hopes for him though and he flashed some of that potential. Rivera was 258, 11,74 with a 319 on base percentage. I would put Ethier and Kemp high on my list, Sands good if your in a keeper league and Rivera as a good backup/bench player.

Don’t even look at the Dodgers catchers. They really don’t have any catchers worth looking at. They had Russell Martin and gave him away, I wonder what they think of that now. Matt Trainor may be their starter now and he hit 214 last season with three homeruns and 22 RBI. A.J. Ellis is a young player who played in 31 games last year hit 271 with two homeruns and 11 RBI. Who knows what Ellis is, I would stay away from the Dodgers catchers.

Do consider James Loney a legitimate option at first base. He hit 288 with 12 homeruns and 65 RBI last season. He would like to improve on his power numbers but his on base was also at 339. He hit’s a lot of doubles.

Don’t think Juan Uribe is a starter any longer. He is a veteran but he is getting older and last year may be more of the norm for him. He batted 204 last year with four homeruns and 28 RBI. I would like to believe he will improve on that but how much so?? I wouldn’t think he would jump up to like 250 or so with 20 homeruns and 60 RBI. I wouldn’t waste a pick on him. He did only play 77 games last year and the two prior years hit 248 and 289 with 24 and 16 in homeruns. I wouldn’t bet on him getting back to that level again though.

Do believe in the hype and potential of Dee Gordon. He has been talked about as a future star and he has a good bloodline with his father being Tom “Flash” Gordon. He hit 304 with 11 RBI in 56 games last season. His on base percentage was 325 and he also had 24 stolen bases. I would especially take him in a keeper league. He is only 23 years old, will turn 24 in April and has his whole career ahead of him.

Don’t take too much time looking at the Dodgers relievers. Todd Coffey, Blake Hawksworth and Kenley Janson are the names you know. Coffey had a decent year but still not dominating and usually you want dominating relievers for fantasy teams. You need the strikeout numbers, wins and the ERA.

On the flip side I would say I Do to their starting pitching. They have Ted Lilly, Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Aaron Harang and Chris Capuano. Kershaw is one of the best in baseball, Billingsley had a disappointing year last year but is still a young pitcher with potential, Lilly to me is one of the most underrated players in baseball, Harang is solid and Capuano can be a decent back of the rotation guy or reserve pitcher on your fantasy team. Kershaws numbers:21-5 with a 2.28 ERA, five complete games and two shutouts. He had 248 strikeouts and a .98 WHIP. Billingsley:11-11 with a 4.21 ERA, one complete game, 152 strikeouts and a 1.45 WHIP. Lilly was 12-14 with a 3.97 ERA, 158 strikeouts and a 1.16 WHIP. Harang 14-7 with a 3.64 ERA, 124 strikeouts and a 1.37 WHIP. Capuano who could be their fifth starter was 11-12 with a 4.55 ERA, one complete game and one shutout. He had 168 strikeouts and a 1.35 WHIP. Capuano would be the least likely to draft but could be an emergency signing or a backup pitcher. He may not be that great but he also isn’t that bad.

Don’t be fooled by the name of Tony Gwynn. He isn’t like his father at all. He hit 256 with two homeruns and 22 RBI last season. He did play 136 games and had a 308 on base percentage. He did have 22 stolen bases.

Do take Jerry Hairston as a very capable backup outfielder or utility guy. He hit 270 last year with five homeruns and 31 RBI. He isn’t a big power guy and won’t drive in a ton of runs but he is a solid backup. He could also steal some bases although last season he only had three.

I know I did less overall Dos and Don’ts in this article but I felt I covered more players. I grouped a lot more into one paragraph such as the relievers, starters and catchers. If you feel I missed anyone or would like to add to anything I said please feel free to comment here on the site. If you have a twitter account feel free to follow me and interact with me there @gmarchesej, the site is also on face book, please like Full Spectrum baseball and comment and like the articles there. Thank you for visiting and reading not just my articles but our whole team of talented writers. I hope you look forward to these articles as I have a lot of fun looking at all the different teams, I will continue to do so throughout the entire season and we will have all your baseball especially fantasy baseball needs covered.

2 Comments For This Post

The Dodgers rotation, as it stands, has the ability to each win ten games between them. I’ll be keeping my eyes on all of them. Billingsley is someone I’m very interested in this season.

James Loney is a wanted man each draft day, but let’s face it-he’s a low level fantasy option. Dodgers were ready to ship him away if they landed Prince and the talent pool at first base goes on for miles and miles. I like this guy and root for him, but guys we have never heard of will have better numbers than him.

I’m with Jay on this one – I don’t know a single mixed league where a guy like James Loney is a viable 1B option.

And I’m definitely on board with Capuano as an end-game rotation option. I like him better than Harang, and he could even probably outperform Lilly if the HR come in waves. What do you think about Nate Eovaldi?